Learning French In France By Getting Out Of Classroom

LISIEUX, FRANCE — Le Centre d' Etudes Franco-Americain, which teaches French to English speakers, was built on a simple but practical approach to learning.

''American students do better learning French in nine weeks here than in 17 weeks in the United States,'' said Philippe Almeras, director and founder of the school here. ''French in France is better because when you get out of the classroom, it's real.''

The inspiration for establishing such a school came in the early 1970s, when Almeras observed that studying French was declining in the United States while interest in Spanish was rising.

Then a professor of French literature at the University of Colorado, Almeras wrote a series of articles about his observations for Le Monde, a newspaper in Paris. An American of French descent who read the articles offered Almeras the use of his chateau near Lisieux to start a French school for English speakers.

Almeras accepted the offer and left Boulder, Colo., for Lisieux in 1975. His first class that year was a group of 23 students from the University of Colorado. ''We had to start without a cent,'' Almeras said. ''I worked for almost two years without pay.''

Le Centre d' Etudes Franco-Americain fared better during the early 1980s as the dollar increased in value. Almeras bought a chateau for the school in town.

The school's reputation spread by word of mouth. Classes arrived from the University of Chicago, the University of Utah, Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, Shoreline Community College in Seattle and the University of Central Florida. Those colleges spread the word to working adults interested in spending their vacations learning French.

Through close relationships with UCF and the University of Caen in France, Le Centre d' Etudes Franco-Americain can give students credits for American or French universities. Almeras, 58, and his assistant, Rainer Dimter, 45, are adjunct professors at UCF now.